Brake control



Sept. 1 1941- F. R. WEHMEIER BRAKE CONTROL Filed Jan. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l QQWWMMRSS QQ .147 TO/P/Vi/S plying or speed retarding Patented Sept. 16, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRAKE CONTROL Fred R. Wclimeier, Indianapolia lnd. Application January 26, 1940, Serial No. 315,675

3 Claims.

This invention relates to means automatically applying brakes in a moving vehicle including automobiles, or vehicles traveling upon tracks and is particularly directed to the application of the brakes by reverse travel of a speed control member, that is the travel of that member when the speed of the vehicle is being decreased, or the travel of that member back to its normal initial starting position. In the automobile, this speed control member would bethe usual foot pedal that controls the valve in the carburetor, in which case the braking action would occur during the up-stroke of that pedal as the foot of the operator is lifted.

As indicated hereinafter, the invention may take a number of forms as to final braking application and specifically may be applied to mechanically or electrically operating brake apmeans.

The invention in one particular form hereinafter shown and described, embraces means for not only retarding the speed of the vehicle upon the reverse travel of the speed control member butalso the storing up of energy which may be afterwards applied in driving the vehicle if so desired. In any event, it is the intention to apply the present invention to vehicles without replacing the existing brake system but onjthe contrary, to work in conjunction therewith, and be particularly useful in vehicles employing "free wheeling drives wherein the usual power plant exerts no braking effect when the power is reduced or shut off.

These and other objects and advantages 'of the invention will become apparent to thoseversed in the art in the following description of the invention as illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is aside elevation of porating the invention;

Fig. 2, a top plan view;

Fig. 3, a detail in section on the line 3-3 in Fi 2;

Fig. 4, a diagrammatic view in perspective of a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 5, a wiring diagram of the electrical cira structure incorcuit employed in that modified form; and

Fig. 6, a detail on an enlarged scale in partial section of the brake control unit employed in that modified form.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views in the drawings.

Referring first to that form of the invention as shown in Figs. 1-3, the invention is illustrated in one example as being applied to an automobile wherein the usual engine l0 through a transmission ll drives a propeller shaft l2 connecting in the usual and well known manner with the rear axle (not shown) for driving the rear wheels of the vehicle.

A jack shaft I3 is driven from the propeller shaft l2 by any suitable means such as through the spur gears I4 (fixed to the propeller shaft) and I5 (fixed to the jack shaft l3) so that nor mally the jack shaft I3 is turning at all times when the propeller shaft l 2 is turning.

Interposed, however, in the jack shaft [3 is a clutch Hiv of any suitable typ the details of which do not enter into the present invention. It is sufficient for the clutch ii to interrupt the drive of the rear part of the jack shaft I3 from the forward part of the Jack shaft l3, between which two parts the clutch I6 is presented. The rear portion of the jack shaft [3 is connected to and operates to drive a fluid compressor H, the compressor in the present instance being designed and operated to compress air taken from the atmosphere. The'discharge from the compressor I1 is taken through a pipe l8 to a storage tank l9. Thus normally during movement of the vehicle when the shaft I2 is turning, the compressor I1 is operating to store up air under pressure in the tank l9, the compressor, of course,

being designed in the usual and Well known where the two parts of the jack shaft l3 are interconnected so as to be driven as a single unit. A clutch release mechanism is provided to be operated in accordance with one of the primary objects of the invention.

In the present example, the engine I0 is controlled by the usual foot pedal 20 commonly referred to as the accelerator pedal. This pedal 20 has the usual connecting rod 2| running to the linkage controlling the carburetor (not shown) of the engine l0. Now in addition to that standard construction, I provide a linkage between the pedal 20 and the clutch Hi to operate in such a manner that when the pedal is depressed, initial travel of the pedal will start releasing the clutch I 6 and completely release it by the end of a predetermined amount of' that initial pedal travel, and subsequent travel of the pedal 20 downwardly or toward the floor board of the vehicle will continue to hold the clutch I 6 in its released position, and further, upon 2 2,2so,so2

release of the pedal 20 or upward travel thereof,

the clutch l8 will remain released until the pedal comes within that range of predetermined initial travel whereupon the clutch IE will re= engage and remain engaged as the pedal 20 continues its upward travel to its upper limit.

Of course, while the clutch is is engaged and the vehicle is still moving, irrespective of arrangement of gears in the transmission H, the vehicle through the shaft l2 will cause the compressor [1 to operate and thus put a load on the shaft tending to slow it down, the compressor l1 normally working below its top pressure limit during this performance.

In the particular form herein shown, one particular linkage arrangement between the pedal 20 and the clutch It consists of a rocker 22' pivoted on the pin 23 to have its upper end above the pivot interconnected with the pedal 20 by the link 24. The lower arm of the rocker 22 is normally pulled against a stop post 25 by a pedal return spring 26. Also the lower arm of the rocker 22 engages with a rod 21 which extends rearwardly to the clutch control fork 23. In the arrangement indicated, Fig. 1, rearward travel of the rod 21 will serve to rock the fork 28 to the clutch release position. In order to maintain the clutch control fork 28 in either the clutch engaged or clutch disengaged positions, a lever 29 is hinged on a pivot 30 to rock between two stops 3i and 32. The upper end of the lever 29 is connected with the rod. 21 and a spring 33 is fixed by one end below the pivot 30 and by its other end to the lever 29 above the pivot 35 in such manner that as the rod 21 is shifted longitudinally, the spring 33 when carried across the axis of the pivot 30 will tend to shift the rod 21 onto either position as will be limited by the positions of the stops 3| and 32. In this connection it is to be noted that the lower end of the rocker 22 has a lost motion connection with the rod 21, herein shown as by means of a pin 34 extending from the rod 21 through a slot in a foot on the lower end of the rocker 22. The pin 34 will be at the forward end of travel of the slot in that rocker foot when the lever 29 is against the forward stop 3| and the pedal 20 is in its uppermost position of travel.

As suggested by the foregoing description, the load applied by the operation of the compressor l1 operates as a brake equalizing between the rear wheels of the-vehicle through the propeller shaft I2 and in most cases will be sufficient to keep the vehicle within control. In case of emergency stops on the other hand, the regular foot'brake will be used to apply the brakes on all four wheels in addition to the braking effect exerted through the compressor load on the two rear wheels. There, of course, will be no sudden action but the action will be gradual as the clutch 16 engages and the compressor load is applied. As above suggested, this action is particularly of advantage where it is desirable to employ the usual free wheeling drive between the engine and the propeller shaft 12.

In order to conserve the energy stored up in the compressed air in the tank 19, the invention is carried further in that an air motor 35 is provided to be connected through a jack shaft 35 and a spur gear 31 with the propeller gear 14. The shaft 36 is broken into two parts to receive therebetween an overrunning clutch 38 of any suitable style, one particular form being that indicated in Fig. 3, wherein the ball-wedge type is shown. The clutch 38 is so designed that when the shaft 12 is normally turning under a power 7 load, the air motor remains stationary and the clutch element 38 revolves in a free. direction (counterclockwise, Fig. 3).

Following the descent of a hill or where unusually quick acceleration is desired, air from the tank is may be conveyed through the pipe 40 to the air motor 35 by pushing down on the control button 4| to open the valve 42 in the pipe 40, the valve 42, of course, normally being closed. Thus the air stored in the tank I! may be utilized at least until its pressure drops below that which would besufficient to operate the motor 35 in a manner to aid in driving the shaft l2 through the gears 31 and l4. 7.

A primary object of the invention being the automatic application of brakes upon a part at least of the up-stroke of the power control pedal.

(accelerator in the automobile), it is obvious that other types of brake operation may be employed. An example of one of these other types will now be described. This form is illustrated in Figs. 4-6 wherein the foot pedal 201s normally held in an upper limit of travel by means of a spring 50 bearing through a rod 51 connected to the pedal. In the particular form herein shown, the pedal 20 has an initial degree of travel before it starts operating the carburetor control which in the present case is had through the rod 52 coming up through the floor board 53 and having its upper end spaced from the under side of the pedal 20 so that the travel of the pedal 20 initially may go through that degree indicated before striking the end of the rod 52, whereupon further depression of the pedal 20 will actuate the rod 52. That is, in the automobile, the engine will not be speeded up until the pedal 20 travels sufficiently far to strike the rod 52 and move it.

Iii'general, this form of the invention as illustrated in Figs. 4-6, comprises means actuated by a small degree of initial travel of the foot pedal to variably increase voltage in an electric circuit upon up-travel of the pedal whereupon that voltage is applied to an electroresponsive device acting in response to that applied voltage to apply the brakes of the vehicle in a gradual manner but nevertheless in a resultant positive man ner.

The form of this means illustrated consists of a rheostat, generally designated by the numeral 54, operated by a lever 55 connecting with the rod 5|. As illustrated in Fig. 6, a simple form of this rheostat may consist of a length of resistance wire 56 and a contact bar 51 bridged by a conductor carried on the lower end of the arm 55. In

the normal up position of the pedal 20, the arm 55 will be in the position as shown by the solid lines in Fig. 6 where the minimum resistance is incorporated in the circuit. The arm 55 is so arranged that it may travel beyond (to the left) the resistance unit 56 so that the circuit is then interrupted at the end of the application of the means requiring but slight power to 'move the lever 60 to apply the brakes.

From the conductor 51 in the rheostat I4 is carried a wire 6! to the winding of the solenoid 58 and from the other terminal of ,that winding leads a wire 62 to the ground or return connection with the usual source of current or storage battery 63. A wire 64 leads from the non. grounded terminal of the battery to a control switch such as the ignition switch 55, and a wire 65 leads from that switch to the resistance 55 in the rheostat 54. With that circuit example in mind, assuming that the ignition switch 65 is closed as it will be during the travel of the vehicle and as long as the engine itself is operating, current is made available at the resistance 56 and the conductor 51 and with the pedal 20 in its normal upper limit of travel as maintained by the spring 50, maximum voltage will be available in the circuit including the winding of the solenoid58 so that the armature of the solenoid will then be retracted to pull the lever 60 into the brake operated position with the maximum available power to be exerted by the solenoid 58. This is the brake holding position. Then when the vehicle is to be set in motion, the foot pedal 20 will be depressed and during the initial travel of the pedal, the arm 55 will be rocked to gradually decrease the voltage of most importantly, the brakes are automatically applied in a gradual manner depending upon rapiglity of release or the pedal 20 as it travels from the stop position or the rod 52 back to the upper limit of travel or the pedal 20. This position in the present showing is determined by the stop 88, Fig. 6, against which the arm 55 strikes by reason of the pull of the spring 50.

Of course the usual pedal 59 may still be operated manually since that pedal 59, in the present showing, is directly connected to the lever 60 to actuate the brakes.

By reason of the flexible connection 59, this manual operation may be accomplished without disturbin in any manner the or operation of the solenoid 58.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the best forms as now known to me,

it is obvious that structural variations may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention and I, therefore, do not desire to be limited to those precise forms beyond the limitations as may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

position or method 1. For a vehicle having a brake system, a driving engine and an engine control member shifttrol member to its initial position upon release,

said automatic return means actuating said first means, said brake system comprising a fluid pump, a vehicle driving member, driving means between said pump and said driving member, and said flrst means consisting of a clutch in said driving means, and a storage tank for accumulating under pressure fluid discharged from said pump, a fluid motor, controlled means for driving the motor from the tank, and means for driving the vehicle driving member from the motor.

2. For a vehicle having a brake system, a driving engine and an engine control member shiftable from an initial position to positions for increasing engine output, the combination of means operated by return travel of said control member toward said initial position for setting into operation said brake system, and means rendering inoperative said first means upon a predetermined travel of said control member from said position, means automatically returning said control member to its initial position upon release, said automatic return means actuating said first means, said'brake system comprising a fluid pump, a vehicle driving member, driving means between said pump and said driving member, and said first means consisting of a clutch in said driving means, and a storage tank for accumulating under pressure fluid discharged from said pump, a fluid motor, clutch. means between said fluid motor and said vehicle driving member, and means for controlling fluid flow from said tank to said motor.

3. In a vehicle having a driving engine, and an engine control membershiftable from an initial position to positions for increasing engine output; the combination of fluid pressure means; means drivingly connecting the pressure means with said engine by shifting of said control member; fluid storage means receiving the discharge or said pressln'e means: a fluid operated motor; means drivingly connecting said motor to said engine under predetermined relative speeds thereof; means interconnecting said motor and said storage means: and means controlling discharge or fluid rrom said storage means to said motor.

7 FRED It. 

